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The Physiology of Reproduction in Turkeys
T h e Physiology of Reproduction in Turkeys 2. DEGREE AND DURATION OF FERTILITY AND HATCHABILITY IN BROODY AND NON-BROODY PULLETS* MORLEY G. MCCARTNEY Department of Poultry Husbandry, The Pennsylvania State College, State College, Pennsylvania (Received for publication November 30, 1950) •
* Authorized for publication on November 27, 1950, as Paper No. 1637 in the journal series of the Pennsylvania Agricultural Experiment Station. 663
METHOD
On November 15, 1949, twenty-seven White Holland pullets, hatched March 7, 1949, were exposed to morning lighting at 4 a.m. On January 4, 1950, these pullets were artificially inseminated once, by means of the method of Burrows and Quinn (1937), with 0.05 ml: of undiluted pooled semen obtained from nine males of the same age and lighting history. The pullets were trapnested and all eggs laid during the 10 weeks following the single insemination were pedigreed and dated. The eggs were set bi-weekly and fertility was determined by candling on the seventh day of incubation, eggs classified as infertile being broken out and examined macroscopically for signs of germ development. At the conclusion of each hatch, the remaining eggs were broken and examined for approximate times of embryo mortality. The broody females were removed from the laying quarters to the broody quarters at the first indications of broodiness. Most females remained in the broody quarters for three days before being returned to the laying quarters. Of . the original twenty-seven females inseminated, nineteen were in production at the beginning and the end of the 10-week period. Of these, eleven laid continuously and eight were broody once. From the data collected for these birds, it was possible to determine on an
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Mount Royal College on June 13, 2015
ALTHOUGH it is generally accepted •*• *• that broodiness causes a marked reduction in the total number of hatching eggs produced, there seems to be some contradictory evidence concerning the relative reproductive ability of broody and non-broody turkeys. Parker and Barton (1945) have presented data which show that both the fertility and the hatchability of fertile eggs laid by Broad Breasted turkey hens which had been broody one to three times were higher than those of non-broody hens. On the other hand, Jones and Kohlmeyer (1947) analyzed the fertility and hatchability records of broody birds and found that these birds were no more fertile and did not hatch any better during their reproductive period than did those which had no broody periods. During a preliminary study on the semen quality of turkey males, observations were made on the degree and duration of fertility and hatchability in broody and non-broody turkey pullets following a single mating. The data obtained in this study should throw some light on the validity of the hypothesis that more frequent mating may account for higher fertility and hatchability on the part of broody birds.
664
MORLEY G. MCCARTNEY F I G U R E 1. Fertility a n d h a t c h a b i l i t y p a t t e r n s of broody a n d nonbroody females following a single m a t i n g Days after insemination
Bi-d No.
14J
7
|
2lj
281
35|
42J
49|
63J
861
70
Broody Females 260 261 268 269 272 276 280
IXX XOX XX XX XX B 10 XXXX IXX XX XX XXXX I XOOXX I XI 0 XX 0X0 0X0 00X X B I IXO XX XXX XXX X X XXX X XX XX X
B
282 XX XXX
IXX IXXX XII I I I I I XX, X XOX OOX XX XX XXX X OXX XXX IXXI I IX I IIII X IIII I I I XX X XX XX II I oxxo XXXX XX XX II XXX XX 11111 X X X X XX X10 I 01 XXXX X II III x x x x x x x x x x x x x 10 x 1 1 1 0 o n n i
I
xo
X B X X
II
I
II II II IIII t
11
Non-broody Females IXXX XX
XXXX IX XXX X X XOO I 0 X I I 0 XXX IXX X X I I X I I I II II I I X XXXX IX XO X IXXX XOO X XX Xl OXXXO XX X XX XX X X I X XXX X X X I IX X X X I I I I I II XX XX IXX 0 0 Oi OX XO XI XXX XO I XX X 10 X I X 10 X I I I. XXO XO O I I I 0 1 I I I I XXX OXX X XXXOX OXXXO I XXXX 0 0 0 0 0 X 0 0 0 0 I OXOX Xi X X XXO X XXXX oxxxx 00 1 XXX 1X01 X I 10 I I I I I I I XOXX III III X XOOX II 0 0 0 XX XXXOX X xxxxxoo, XXXXXXO X XXXXX XXX 1 0 0 I I XXO XXX IX IXX ij X X O I I I X I III 1 III III i n n xxxxoxx XXXX XX X OX XOXi X XXX XOX 0 1 XO I I X OXXX X XXX X XO IXXXX 0 X X I X XX XX X I XX XO 10 I I XX 0 1 I XXXX XX
ioxoxxol X IX XXX0 XX XX IXXX XO XOOO IXXXX X I XXOO XXX XX XXX XX XIXX X
II
III II I I I I III II I I I I II I 111 I I I I I III II II II IIIIII IIII I i n n III III i n n 1 IIII III I I I IIII I II II I II II II IIII I I I I
I—infertile egg X—fertile egg hatched 0—dead germ B—bird identified as broody
individual basis the duration of fertility and hatchability in days and the percentage fertility and hatchability of all eggs laid during the fertile period following a single insemination. Percentage fertility and hatchability of all eggs laid before and after the onset of broodiness were also determined. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The fertility and hatchability patterns of the broody and non-broody females inseminated with 0.05 ml. of semen are illustrated in Figure 1. These patterns
conform to the typical fertility patterns presented by Lorenz (1950) for turkey hens inseminated with 0.025 ml. of semen. Table 1 presents the degree and duration of fertility and hatchability of the eggs laid by the broody and non-broody females following a single mating. The fertility of the broody and the nonbroody females was 91.5 and 91.4 percent, respectively. Fertility of eggs laid by broody females before the onset of broodiness was 96.3, while afterwards it was 87.8 percent. The average duration of fertility of the broody females was 51.6
T A B L E 1.—Degree and duration of fertility and hatchability of eggs laid by broody and non-broody females following a single mating
Females
Broody (pre-pause) (post-pause) Non-broody 1
.
Total eggs set
Number eggs fertile
Number poults hatched
Percent fertile
hatched1
189 82 107 374
173 79 94 342
148 67 82 264
91.5 96.3 87.8 91.4
85.5 84.8 87.2 77.2
P e r c e n t a g e h a t c h e d of fertile eggs set.
Percent
Duration of fertility
Duration of hatch
days 51.6
days 49.7
— —
47.2
— —
44.7
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Mount Royal College on June 13, 2015
258 259 263 264 267 270 275 283 285 288 290
FERTILITY AND HATCHABILITY IN BROODY AND NON-BROODY TURKEYS
spectively. For the broody females, the percentage hatchability of fertile eggs before pause was 84.8, while afterwards it was 87.2 percent. The average duration of hatchability for the broody and nonbroody females was 49.7 and 44.7 days, respectively. Thus, the data not only show that the duration of hatchability and the percentage hatchability of fertile eggs laid by females which had experienced reproductive pauses were considerably better than those of non-broody females, but that hatchability after broodiness was actually better than before. Eggs fertilized by sperm remaining in the oviducts of broody females for about 50 days hatched slightly better than eggs fertilized by sperm spending about 45 days in the oviducts of nonbroody females. Since the differences in degree and duration of fertility and hatchability of eggs produced by both groups of females were found to be insignificant, the fertility, hatchability and embryonic mortality data for these two groups were combined and summarized by weekly intervals in Table 2. An average fertility curve constructed from these data would conform very closely to those illustrated by Lorenz (1950) for birds receiving a single insemination with 0.05 or 0.025 ml. of semen. Of the eggs laid during the first 42 days following insemination, 90.4 percent were fertile. Fertility declined steadily thereafter, no fertile eggs being produced during the tenth week after mating. These results show that satisfactory fertility might be obtained by mating turkeys once every six weeks with 0.05 ml. of semen. However, under practicable conditions, it is recommended that turkeys should be inseminated at least once every four weeks in order to secure optimum fertility. The hatchability of the fertile eggs
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Mount Royal College on June 13, 2015
days and of the non-broody females was 47.2 days. These values are in good agreement with the average interval of 43 days between the onset and duration of fertility which was computed from the fertility patterns illustrated by Lorenz (1950). The average length of the non-productive period for the broody birds was 17.2 days. This length of broody pause is in close agreement with the interval observed by Parker and Barton (1945), who found that the average time lost from production by their turkey hens was 16.3 days for each broody period. Harper and Parker (1950) also found that fertile eggs were laid by broody turkey hens which resumed production after an average length of pause of 14 days. However, they made no reference to the degree and duration of fertility in these birds following their return to production. The fertility of eggs laid during the fertile period following insemination was virtually identical for the broody and non-broody females. In the former, however, pre-pause fertility was 8.5 percent higher than post-pause fertility. This suggests that higher fertility and hatchability of broody birds observed by Parker and Barton (1945) may have resulted from natural mating following broodiness. It was also found that sperm survived longer in the oviducts of broody females than in the oviducts of non-broody females. Although the oviducts of the broody females were quiescent for an average of 17.2 days, no major physiological changes could have occurred therein to cause any deleterious effect upon sperm viability. The hatchability of the fertile eggs laid by the broody and the non-broody females was 85.5 and 77.2 percent, re-
665
666
MORLEY G. MCCARTNEY TABLE 2.—Weekly summary of fertility, hatchability and embryo mortality following a single mating {broody and non-broody females combined) Total eggs set
Number eggs fertile
Number poults hatched
1- 7 8-14 15-21 22-28 29-35 36-42 43-49 50-56 57-63 64-70
102 86 69 65 74 86 93 79 80 62
89 84 69 59 66 69 60 16 2 0
72 66 54 44 56 60 48 9 0 0
1 2
Percent fertile 87.2 97.7 100.0 90.8 89.2 80.2 64.5 20.2
2.5 0.0
Perrent hatched' natcnea 80.9 78.6 78.2 74.6 84.8 86.9 80.0 56.2
0.0 0.0
Number dead germs
18 18 15 15 10 9 12 7 2 0
. Percent emhv y° ! mortality 20.1 21.4 21.8 25.4 15.2 13.1 20.0 43.8 100.0
0.0
Percentage hatched of fertile eggs set. Percent embryonic mortality of fertile eggs set.
laid during the first 49 days following insemination was 80.6 percent. During the eighth week after insemination only 56.2 percent of the fertile eggs hatched and no poults were obtained from eggs laid after this time. No abnormally high embryonic mortality was encountered until the eighth week after mating. It has been reported by Nalbandov and Card (1943) that embryos in chicken eggs fertilized by stale or senescent sperm are more apt to terminate their development prior to hatching than are embryos in eggs fertilized by fresh sperm. In this study there was no apparent decrease in the age at death of turkey embryos fertilized by sperm having spent less than 49 days in the oviduct. The average age at death of the embryos fertilized by turkey sperm 1 to 49 days old was 10.5 days. Turkey eggs fertilized during the seventh week after insemination tended to hatch equally as well as eggs fertilized during the first week. Eggs fertilized by sperm older than 49 days terminated their embryonic development by the third day of incubation. These results show that turkey spermatozoa were capable of retaining their reproductive ability over a much longer period of time than reported for chicken
spermatozoa. Kosin (1950), who made a similar observation, has suggested that this species difference in the persistency of sperm functional activity may be due to: (1) an internal condition within the turkey female's oviduct more favorable to the longevity of semen, and (2) the exceptional resistance of turkey spermatozoa to physiological senescence. SUMMARY
Data were obtained on eight broody and eleven non-broody turkey females that were in production at the beginning and end of a 10-week period following a single insemination with 0.05 ml. of undiluted pooled semen. There was no significant difference in either degree or duration of fertility and hatchability between these two groups of birds. The combined fertility, hatchability and embryonic mortality data of the two groups of females show that about 90 percent fertility and 80 percent hatchability of fertile eggs was maintained in turkeys for six weeks and seven weeks, respectively, following a sirgle insemination. Embryonic mortality data show that no excessive deaths occurred in turkey embryos fertilized by sperm seven weeks
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Mount Royal College on June 13, 2015
Days after insemination
NEWS AND NOTES
REFERENCES Burrows, W. H., and J. P. Quinn, 1937. The collection of spermatozoa from the domestic chicken
and turkey. Poultry Sci. 16: 19-24. Harper, J. A., and J. E. Parker, 1950. Family differences in fertility of turkey hens. Poultry Sci. 29: 471-473. Jones, D. G., and W. Kohlmeyer, 1947. The relationship of brpodiness and pause to reproductive performance in turkeys. Poultry Sci. 26: 545. Kosin, I. L., and W. J. Wakely, 1950. Persistency of functional capacity of breed-heterologous turkey semen. Poultry Sci. 29: 258-263. Lorenz, F. W., 1950. Onset and duration of fertility in turkeys. Poultry Sci. 29: 20-26. Nalbandov, A., and L. E. Card, 1943. Effect of stale sperm on fertility and hatchability of chicken eggs. Poultry Sci. 22: 218-226. Parker, J. E., and O. A. Barton, 1945. Relation of brpodiness to reproduction in turkey hens. Bimonthly Bulletin, North Dakota Agri. Expt. Sta. 8, 2 : 3 - 5 .
News and Notes {Continued from page 662)
Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y., on the value of eggs in the diet of the aged. Dr. James R. Wilson, Secretary of the Council on Food and Nutrition has been authorized by the Directors of the American Medical Association to accept membership on the Technical A'dvisory Committee of PENB. The other members of the committee are Dr. A. R. Winter, Ohio State University, Columbus, and Dr. F. A. Kummerow, University of Illinois, Urbana. The seventh in the series of advertisements, concerning the qualities of poultry meat and eggs, in Today's Health, the Journal of the American Medical Association and the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, has appeared. After the third advertisement a questionnaire forwarded to doctors in every state, showed that 68 percent had seen the advertisements; 71 percent rated them good; 50 percent filed the ads; and 68 percent wished to see the messages continued.
Over 1700 individuals have received instruction in better merchandising practices in poultry products in the PENB project under the direction of Charles Hawks, with funds supplied through the Research and Marketing Act. ' PENB distributed a booklet "Chicken U.S.A." containing favorite recipes submitted by 38 governors at the annual demonstration before eastern food editors at the Hotel Statler, New York. The event was sponsored jointly by PENB and NEPPCO. Kathyrn Niles and Jeannette MacLuckie of the Poultry and Egg National Board, and Paul Logan, research director of the National Restaurant Association, gave demonstrations of correct procedure in cooking turkey before some 200 restaurant operators at the NRA annual convention and exposition in Chicago. The retail merchandising training classes conducted by PENB and USDA have been held in Nebraska, Iowa, Texas, Illinois and Michigan. Director Charles
{Continued on page 678)
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Mount Royal College on June 13, 2015
or less of age. However, eggs fertilized by sperm that had spent more than seven weeks in the oviduct terminated their embryonic development seven days earlier than did those eggs fertilized by younger sperm. It is suggested that turkey spermatozoa retain their reproductive ability for long periods of time because the reproductive tracts of both broody and non-broody females provide an unusually desirable environment.
667
* Authorized for publication on November 27, 1950, as Paper No. 1637 in the journal series of the Pennsylvania Agricultural Experiment Station. 663
METHOD
On November 15, 1949, twenty-seven White Holland pullets, hatched March 7, 1949, were exposed to morning lighting at 4 a.m. On January 4, 1950, these pullets were artificially inseminated once, by means of the method of Burrows and Quinn (1937), with 0.05 ml: of undiluted pooled semen obtained from nine males of the same age and lighting history. The pullets were trapnested and all eggs laid during the 10 weeks following the single insemination were pedigreed and dated. The eggs were set bi-weekly and fertility was determined by candling on the seventh day of incubation, eggs classified as infertile being broken out and examined macroscopically for signs of germ development. At the conclusion of each hatch, the remaining eggs were broken and examined for approximate times of embryo mortality. The broody females were removed from the laying quarters to the broody quarters at the first indications of broodiness. Most females remained in the broody quarters for three days before being returned to the laying quarters. Of . the original twenty-seven females inseminated, nineteen were in production at the beginning and the end of the 10-week period. Of these, eleven laid continuously and eight were broody once. From the data collected for these birds, it was possible to determine on an
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Mount Royal College on June 13, 2015
ALTHOUGH it is generally accepted •*• *• that broodiness causes a marked reduction in the total number of hatching eggs produced, there seems to be some contradictory evidence concerning the relative reproductive ability of broody and non-broody turkeys. Parker and Barton (1945) have presented data which show that both the fertility and the hatchability of fertile eggs laid by Broad Breasted turkey hens which had been broody one to three times were higher than those of non-broody hens. On the other hand, Jones and Kohlmeyer (1947) analyzed the fertility and hatchability records of broody birds and found that these birds were no more fertile and did not hatch any better during their reproductive period than did those which had no broody periods. During a preliminary study on the semen quality of turkey males, observations were made on the degree and duration of fertility and hatchability in broody and non-broody turkey pullets following a single mating. The data obtained in this study should throw some light on the validity of the hypothesis that more frequent mating may account for higher fertility and hatchability on the part of broody birds.
664
MORLEY G. MCCARTNEY F I G U R E 1. Fertility a n d h a t c h a b i l i t y p a t t e r n s of broody a n d nonbroody females following a single m a t i n g Days after insemination
Bi-d No.
14J
7
|
2lj
281
35|
42J
49|
63J
861
70
Broody Females 260 261 268 269 272 276 280
IXX XOX XX XX XX B 10 XXXX IXX XX XX XXXX I XOOXX I XI 0 XX 0X0 0X0 00X X B I IXO XX XXX XXX X X XXX X XX XX X
B
282 XX XXX
IXX IXXX XII I I I I I XX, X XOX OOX XX XX XXX X OXX XXX IXXI I IX I IIII X IIII I I I XX X XX XX II I oxxo XXXX XX XX II XXX XX 11111 X X X X XX X10 I 01 XXXX X II III x x x x x x x x x x x x x 10 x 1 1 1 0 o n n i
I
xo
X B X X
II
I
II II II IIII t
11
Non-broody Females IXXX XX
XXXX IX XXX X X XOO I 0 X I I 0 XXX IXX X X I I X I I I II II I I X XXXX IX XO X IXXX XOO X XX Xl OXXXO XX X XX XX X X I X XXX X X X I IX X X X I I I I I II XX XX IXX 0 0 Oi OX XO XI XXX XO I XX X 10 X I X 10 X I I I. XXO XO O I I I 0 1 I I I I XXX OXX X XXXOX OXXXO I XXXX 0 0 0 0 0 X 0 0 0 0 I OXOX Xi X X XXO X XXXX oxxxx 00 1 XXX 1X01 X I 10 I I I I I I I XOXX III III X XOOX II 0 0 0 XX XXXOX X xxxxxoo, XXXXXXO X XXXXX XXX 1 0 0 I I XXO XXX IX IXX ij X X O I I I X I III 1 III III i n n xxxxoxx XXXX XX X OX XOXi X XXX XOX 0 1 XO I I X OXXX X XXX X XO IXXXX 0 X X I X XX XX X I XX XO 10 I I XX 0 1 I XXXX XX
ioxoxxol X IX XXX0 XX XX IXXX XO XOOO IXXXX X I XXOO XXX XX XXX XX XIXX X
II
III II I I I I III II I I I I II I 111 I I I I I III II II II IIIIII IIII I i n n III III i n n 1 IIII III I I I IIII I II II I II II II IIII I I I I
I—infertile egg X—fertile egg hatched 0—dead germ B—bird identified as broody
individual basis the duration of fertility and hatchability in days and the percentage fertility and hatchability of all eggs laid during the fertile period following a single insemination. Percentage fertility and hatchability of all eggs laid before and after the onset of broodiness were also determined. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The fertility and hatchability patterns of the broody and non-broody females inseminated with 0.05 ml. of semen are illustrated in Figure 1. These patterns
conform to the typical fertility patterns presented by Lorenz (1950) for turkey hens inseminated with 0.025 ml. of semen. Table 1 presents the degree and duration of fertility and hatchability of the eggs laid by the broody and non-broody females following a single mating. The fertility of the broody and the nonbroody females was 91.5 and 91.4 percent, respectively. Fertility of eggs laid by broody females before the onset of broodiness was 96.3, while afterwards it was 87.8 percent. The average duration of fertility of the broody females was 51.6
T A B L E 1.—Degree and duration of fertility and hatchability of eggs laid by broody and non-broody females following a single mating
Females
Broody (pre-pause) (post-pause) Non-broody 1
.
Total eggs set
Number eggs fertile
Number poults hatched
Percent fertile
hatched1
189 82 107 374
173 79 94 342
148 67 82 264
91.5 96.3 87.8 91.4
85.5 84.8 87.2 77.2
P e r c e n t a g e h a t c h e d of fertile eggs set.
Percent
Duration of fertility
Duration of hatch
days 51.6
days 49.7
— —
47.2
— —
44.7
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Mount Royal College on June 13, 2015
258 259 263 264 267 270 275 283 285 288 290
FERTILITY AND HATCHABILITY IN BROODY AND NON-BROODY TURKEYS
spectively. For the broody females, the percentage hatchability of fertile eggs before pause was 84.8, while afterwards it was 87.2 percent. The average duration of hatchability for the broody and nonbroody females was 49.7 and 44.7 days, respectively. Thus, the data not only show that the duration of hatchability and the percentage hatchability of fertile eggs laid by females which had experienced reproductive pauses were considerably better than those of non-broody females, but that hatchability after broodiness was actually better than before. Eggs fertilized by sperm remaining in the oviducts of broody females for about 50 days hatched slightly better than eggs fertilized by sperm spending about 45 days in the oviducts of nonbroody females. Since the differences in degree and duration of fertility and hatchability of eggs produced by both groups of females were found to be insignificant, the fertility, hatchability and embryonic mortality data for these two groups were combined and summarized by weekly intervals in Table 2. An average fertility curve constructed from these data would conform very closely to those illustrated by Lorenz (1950) for birds receiving a single insemination with 0.05 or 0.025 ml. of semen. Of the eggs laid during the first 42 days following insemination, 90.4 percent were fertile. Fertility declined steadily thereafter, no fertile eggs being produced during the tenth week after mating. These results show that satisfactory fertility might be obtained by mating turkeys once every six weeks with 0.05 ml. of semen. However, under practicable conditions, it is recommended that turkeys should be inseminated at least once every four weeks in order to secure optimum fertility. The hatchability of the fertile eggs
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Mount Royal College on June 13, 2015
days and of the non-broody females was 47.2 days. These values are in good agreement with the average interval of 43 days between the onset and duration of fertility which was computed from the fertility patterns illustrated by Lorenz (1950). The average length of the non-productive period for the broody birds was 17.2 days. This length of broody pause is in close agreement with the interval observed by Parker and Barton (1945), who found that the average time lost from production by their turkey hens was 16.3 days for each broody period. Harper and Parker (1950) also found that fertile eggs were laid by broody turkey hens which resumed production after an average length of pause of 14 days. However, they made no reference to the degree and duration of fertility in these birds following their return to production. The fertility of eggs laid during the fertile period following insemination was virtually identical for the broody and non-broody females. In the former, however, pre-pause fertility was 8.5 percent higher than post-pause fertility. This suggests that higher fertility and hatchability of broody birds observed by Parker and Barton (1945) may have resulted from natural mating following broodiness. It was also found that sperm survived longer in the oviducts of broody females than in the oviducts of non-broody females. Although the oviducts of the broody females were quiescent for an average of 17.2 days, no major physiological changes could have occurred therein to cause any deleterious effect upon sperm viability. The hatchability of the fertile eggs laid by the broody and the non-broody females was 85.5 and 77.2 percent, re-
665
666
MORLEY G. MCCARTNEY TABLE 2.—Weekly summary of fertility, hatchability and embryo mortality following a single mating {broody and non-broody females combined) Total eggs set
Number eggs fertile
Number poults hatched
1- 7 8-14 15-21 22-28 29-35 36-42 43-49 50-56 57-63 64-70
102 86 69 65 74 86 93 79 80 62
89 84 69 59 66 69 60 16 2 0
72 66 54 44 56 60 48 9 0 0
1 2
Percent fertile 87.2 97.7 100.0 90.8 89.2 80.2 64.5 20.2
2.5 0.0
Perrent hatched' natcnea 80.9 78.6 78.2 74.6 84.8 86.9 80.0 56.2
0.0 0.0
Number dead germs
18 18 15 15 10 9 12 7 2 0
. Percent emhv y° ! mortality 20.1 21.4 21.8 25.4 15.2 13.1 20.0 43.8 100.0
0.0
Percentage hatched of fertile eggs set. Percent embryonic mortality of fertile eggs set.
laid during the first 49 days following insemination was 80.6 percent. During the eighth week after insemination only 56.2 percent of the fertile eggs hatched and no poults were obtained from eggs laid after this time. No abnormally high embryonic mortality was encountered until the eighth week after mating. It has been reported by Nalbandov and Card (1943) that embryos in chicken eggs fertilized by stale or senescent sperm are more apt to terminate their development prior to hatching than are embryos in eggs fertilized by fresh sperm. In this study there was no apparent decrease in the age at death of turkey embryos fertilized by sperm having spent less than 49 days in the oviduct. The average age at death of the embryos fertilized by turkey sperm 1 to 49 days old was 10.5 days. Turkey eggs fertilized during the seventh week after insemination tended to hatch equally as well as eggs fertilized during the first week. Eggs fertilized by sperm older than 49 days terminated their embryonic development by the third day of incubation. These results show that turkey spermatozoa were capable of retaining their reproductive ability over a much longer period of time than reported for chicken
spermatozoa. Kosin (1950), who made a similar observation, has suggested that this species difference in the persistency of sperm functional activity may be due to: (1) an internal condition within the turkey female's oviduct more favorable to the longevity of semen, and (2) the exceptional resistance of turkey spermatozoa to physiological senescence. SUMMARY
Data were obtained on eight broody and eleven non-broody turkey females that were in production at the beginning and end of a 10-week period following a single insemination with 0.05 ml. of undiluted pooled semen. There was no significant difference in either degree or duration of fertility and hatchability between these two groups of birds. The combined fertility, hatchability and embryonic mortality data of the two groups of females show that about 90 percent fertility and 80 percent hatchability of fertile eggs was maintained in turkeys for six weeks and seven weeks, respectively, following a sirgle insemination. Embryonic mortality data show that no excessive deaths occurred in turkey embryos fertilized by sperm seven weeks
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Mount Royal College on June 13, 2015
Days after insemination
NEWS AND NOTES
REFERENCES Burrows, W. H., and J. P. Quinn, 1937. The collection of spermatozoa from the domestic chicken
and turkey. Poultry Sci. 16: 19-24. Harper, J. A., and J. E. Parker, 1950. Family differences in fertility of turkey hens. Poultry Sci. 29: 471-473. Jones, D. G., and W. Kohlmeyer, 1947. The relationship of brpodiness and pause to reproductive performance in turkeys. Poultry Sci. 26: 545. Kosin, I. L., and W. J. Wakely, 1950. Persistency of functional capacity of breed-heterologous turkey semen. Poultry Sci. 29: 258-263. Lorenz, F. W., 1950. Onset and duration of fertility in turkeys. Poultry Sci. 29: 20-26. Nalbandov, A., and L. E. Card, 1943. Effect of stale sperm on fertility and hatchability of chicken eggs. Poultry Sci. 22: 218-226. Parker, J. E., and O. A. Barton, 1945. Relation of brpodiness to reproduction in turkey hens. Bimonthly Bulletin, North Dakota Agri. Expt. Sta. 8, 2 : 3 - 5 .
News and Notes {Continued from page 662)
Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y., on the value of eggs in the diet of the aged. Dr. James R. Wilson, Secretary of the Council on Food and Nutrition has been authorized by the Directors of the American Medical Association to accept membership on the Technical A'dvisory Committee of PENB. The other members of the committee are Dr. A. R. Winter, Ohio State University, Columbus, and Dr. F. A. Kummerow, University of Illinois, Urbana. The seventh in the series of advertisements, concerning the qualities of poultry meat and eggs, in Today's Health, the Journal of the American Medical Association and the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, has appeared. After the third advertisement a questionnaire forwarded to doctors in every state, showed that 68 percent had seen the advertisements; 71 percent rated them good; 50 percent filed the ads; and 68 percent wished to see the messages continued.
Over 1700 individuals have received instruction in better merchandising practices in poultry products in the PENB project under the direction of Charles Hawks, with funds supplied through the Research and Marketing Act. ' PENB distributed a booklet "Chicken U.S.A." containing favorite recipes submitted by 38 governors at the annual demonstration before eastern food editors at the Hotel Statler, New York. The event was sponsored jointly by PENB and NEPPCO. Kathyrn Niles and Jeannette MacLuckie of the Poultry and Egg National Board, and Paul Logan, research director of the National Restaurant Association, gave demonstrations of correct procedure in cooking turkey before some 200 restaurant operators at the NRA annual convention and exposition in Chicago. The retail merchandising training classes conducted by PENB and USDA have been held in Nebraska, Iowa, Texas, Illinois and Michigan. Director Charles
{Continued on page 678)
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or less of age. However, eggs fertilized by sperm that had spent more than seven weeks in the oviduct terminated their embryonic development seven days earlier than did those eggs fertilized by younger sperm. It is suggested that turkey spermatozoa retain their reproductive ability for long periods of time because the reproductive tracts of both broody and non-broody females provide an unusually desirable environment.
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